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Friday February 14, 2020
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SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946
Brookings, Oregon
County eyes ‘property registration ordinance’ C
Brian Williams Pilot Editor
urry County Commissioners moved closer to implementing a vacant “property registration ordinance” for out-ofcounty property owners during Wednesday’s regular meeting, Feb. 5.
According to county staff, some non-owner occupied properties in the county have become eyesores and the ordinance would give officials a tool to clean them up. Commissioner Court Boice said the problem “is growing dramatically and that is what has given us some pretty serious concern
here.” Commissioners moved the ordinance forward in the process with a 3-0. The next step is a public hearing on Feb. 19. Property owners would have to pay a fee and register their property if it “is not legally occupied at least six months in a calendar year by the owner of the prop-
erty, and the owner does not declare a home elsewhere in Curry County as their permanent residence,” according to staff. “Vacant properties, or those where the owner is absent, tend to attract squatters, nuisance and crime,” according to county staff. “As a routine matter, the Sheriff’s Office ends up
spending more time at these properties or patrolling the areas, as do the Code Enforcement Officers.” Two people spoke during public comment on the ordinance. Both were not in favor of it, saying it penalized everyone instead of focusing on the small percentage of problem properties.
“We are conflating a problem with just a larger body of things and we are going to be charging people who might live 35 miles out Forest Road 3310 and own a piece of property out there and they are going to be paying because properties up here close by are having More Ordinance on Page A3
Hooskanaden project awarded to Suulataaq
Transient camp cleanup
Linda Pinkham Staff Writer
T
he Hooskanaden slide repair project on U.S. Highway 101 will be underway in early May, as soon as the ground dries out. The project should be completed by August, says Oregon Department of Transportation spokesperson Dan Latham. The current project was delayed from starting last fall due to a failed bid process. The winning bid in the current round was awarded to Suulataaq out of Suisun City, Calif., for just under $3.7 million. The money for the final repair will come primarily from federal emergency relief funds. The company awarded the bid pronounces its name “soo loo dock,” which means “gold” in Yupik, which is an Athabascan language. “Hooskanaden” means “gravel More Project on Page A3
Seed library will sprout in Brookings Brian Williams Pilot Editor
L
(Top) The sole occupant still at the camp was arrested after refusing to pack up his belongings and leave. (Bottom) Heavy equipment was used to scoop the trash into seven dump trucks with a capacity of 10 cubic yards each. Photos by Linda Pinkham.
Harbor
homeless camp cleared out A
Linda Pinkham Staff Writer
large and sprawling homeless encampment in Harbor, upriver from the Chetco River bridge where U.S. Highway 101 crosses, is being cleaned up, starting on Feb. 12 by Curry County crews. Tarps and makeshift tents covered hundreds of square feet of county property along the South Bank Chetco River Road at the South Bank Underpass Road. Propped up with poles, the long row of the structures wrapped around the curvature of the bank and sheltered piles of belongings mixed with rubbish, assorted junk and heaps of trash. “We are taking the public complaints seriously, and are trying to take care of the mess,” said Julie Schmelzer, county administrator. “The site was unsafe for the encampment due to highway access (curve), because it is a designated landslide area, and we are concerned about fecal matter and
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debris entering the Chetco River.” The property was posted on Feb. 10, providing notice of the impending cleanup. Curry County Sheriff deputies arrived first to clear the camp of the sole occupant before crews could begin. At one point, as many as 18 people inhabited the camp. “He was asked to leave the property, he doesn’t own the property, and so he was arrested for trespassing,” said Sheriff Lt. John Ensley. “Unfortunately, it’s gone this far, and now we’ll do what we can to get it cleaned up,” said Sheriff’s Capt. Phil McDonald. “I know the gentleman that created this mess is not happy. We gave him the opportunity to pick up the things he needed to have and go or be arrested. He chose not to do that, so he was arrested. The thing is, this isn’t a guy camping. That’s not what this is. This is a garbage dump that this guy has created. He is homeless by choice, and he’s made this mess by choice. I know there are people who say, ‘Oh,
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poor homeless guy. Why are they doing this to him?’ But why is he doing this to us?” Curry County Code Enforcement Officer Dave Fortman led a tour for The Pilot before the cleanup began through a winding narrow path inside the various makeshift tent chambers full of stuff piled 3 to 4 feet high. We couldn’t go around the outside of it because it extended right up to the edge of a steep bank, so we had to go through it, ducking in places and stepping over trash to reach the other side. Deep in the bowels of the tent maze was a burn barrel, where the occupants burned trash, including plastics. One of the complaints about the camp was from a nearby cancer patient who has trouble breathing and has especially suffered from the pollutants emanating from the illegal burning. A perilously short distance from the burn barrel was a large propane cylinder More Homeless on Page A3
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ynette McPherson is becoming known as the seed lady. She is the driving force behind the first seed library in Brookings. The Chetco Seed Library kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, inside of the Chetco Community Public Library, 405 Alder St., Brookings. People can come by and check seeds out of the library until 11:30 a.m. “The goal is to help residents of Del Norte and Curry counties sow, save and share heirloom, non-GMO, nonhybrid, open-pollinated seeds acclimatized to our region,” McPherson, who is the garden manager for the BrookingsHarbor School District. People can come and take some seed packets, or as many seeds as they think they will use. The seeds are free, but McPherson is hoping to see a return on the investment. “On the back of every packet is a little thing about you agreeing to sow the seeds and return them,” McPherson said. “If we don’t get any seeds back this will be a grand experiment and I will have this awesome cabinet at my house.” Processes for checkout, recording garden conditions, saving, and sharing future seeds are available at the seed cabinet. “Each packet has a list of what they are, where they come from and where to grow them,” said McPherson who grabbed a runner bean packet and began reading some of More Seed on Page A3
Lynette McPherson is spearheading the Chetco Seed Library that will be open to gardeners for the first time on Feb. 22 at the Chetco Community Public Library. Photo by Brian Williams
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